Eighteen staff members at the El Paso State Supported Living Center recently were reassigned pending the investigation into allegations of abuse or neglect involving the center's special needs residents, Texas state officials confirmed Friday.

State Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, said he also received information that two other employees were fired in mid-December. In addition to these, three staff members are on administrative reassignment for retaliation pending investigation into alleged civil rights abuses, state officials said.

Further details about the complaints, including the identities of the reassigned staff members, were unavailable late Friday.

REPORTER

Diana Washington Valdez

Before he found out about the employee reassignments, Pickett said, he had arranged for the El Paso state delegation to meet later this month with the El Paso state center's new director, Laura Cazabon-Braly.

He said Joe Vesowate, the assistant state commissioner who oversees state centers in Texas, and Jon Wizenbaum, the new commissioner of the Department of Aging and Disability Services, or DADS, plan to attend the meeting.

"That meeting is going to take place on January 25 in El Paso," Pickett said. "It will give us a chance to get acquainted and discuss any issues related to the state center. Our concerns should be about the needs of the residents."

Pickett said he received an email from Vesowate that provided a few details about the recent temporary staff reassignments.

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"In regards to staff reassigned pending the outcome of abuse or neglect investigations: 18 staff (are) currently on reassignment pending investigation outcomes," Vesowate's email said. "This number changes based on any new allegations and completed investigations. If the investigation does not confirm abuse or neglect, the staff typically resumes direct care work. If the allegation does confirm abuse or neglect, disciplinary actions up to and including termination are initiated."

According to a statement of the No Voice, No Justice coalition, an advocacy group composed of people with ties to the El Paso state center, there have never been this many direct care staffers removed at the same time from their duties of caring for special needs residents.

The coalition said bruises on the neck and broken ribs on a couple of special needs residents at the state center are included in the latest complaints reported to state authorities.

In his Jan. 3 email, Vesowate also said, "In some cases, removal does not immediately occur (such as for a person with a history of spurious allegations) but there are controls in place to make sure there is no risk to residents or that would compromise the integrity of the investigation in all cases."

Vesowate added that three state center staff members are on administrative reassignments during investigations of alleged retaliation.. In the past, staff members had complained that they experienced retaliation from supervisors for reporting alleged abuses.

Allison Lowery, director of the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services' Center for Consumer and External Affairs in Austin, said the state center follows procedures required under federal laws whenever allegations of abuse or neglect are reported.

"To meet this requirement, all 13 living centers have a policy to reassign staff members temporarily so they won't have any direct contact with residents while an investigation is under way," Lowery said.

The state Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, or DFPS, conducts the abuse and neglect investigations.

"Currently in El Paso, 18 staff members (out of 451 total positions) are reassigned pending the outcome of DFPS allegation investigations," Lowery said. "These cases don't stem from any single incident. But investigations into allegations can take weeks, even months, and staff members need to be reassigned for the full duration to protect the safety of residents. So this number will fluctuate based on any new allegations or completed investigations."

"If the DFPS investigation does not confirm abuse or neglect, which is more often the case," Lowery said, "the staff member typically will resume direct care work with residents. If the allegation does confirm abuse or neglect, personnel actions Ð up to and including termination of employment Ð are initiated."

Since September, El Paso state center has had a total of 67 allegations of abuse or neglect by staff, and all the allegations were investigated, Lowery said.

"Of those, DFPS confirmed seven cases of abuse or neglect Ð six cases of neglect and one case of abuse of a type that wouldn't have caused injury to a resident," Lowery said.

The coalition has called for the terminations of several managers at the El Paso state center on Delta Drive, who were hired or promoted to their positions under the previous director, Jaime Monardes, who resigned under pressure in the summer.

Cazabon-Braly, the new director, assumed her duties at the center last month.

The 145-bed center in El Paso is responsible for assisting people with special needs around the clock. It provides residential services, including comprehensive behavioral-treatment services and health-care services such as physician, nursing and dental services.

Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.